Life is cyclical. Every 75 years, the people of the world witness the wonder of Haley’s Comet. Every four years, they experience the thrill of the Olympic Games. And once every seven years, educators at schools throughout the country find themselves neck-deep working on something as predictable as a spectacular comet or the hype of the Olympics. This is the cycle of the Middle States school accreditation process, often referred to as “Middle States.”
Put simply, “Middle States” is shorthand for the accreditation process administered by the Middle States Association Commission on Elementary and Secondary Schools and it works like this: First, a school community takes a good look at itself to be sure it is fulfilling its mission in the way it claims to be. This is also an opportunity for the school community to look for ways to improve. This “self study” is usually accomplished by, among other ways, having members of the community, including parents, students, board members, faculty, and staff, fill out surveys. Next, through the self-assessment process, the school identifies areas of potential growth and improvement, sets goals around these areas, and develops a plan to achieve these goals. Finally, a team of outside educators review the school’s self-study and goals by visiting the school to conduct interviews and observations.
From setting the goals to hosting the team of visitors, the process of being accredited is repeated every seven years. When it’s over, it starts again. Independence was first accredited by the Middle States Commission in 1997, and has repeated the exercise according to the required schedule ever since. In the spring of 2021, Independence opened its doors (and Zoom connections, thanks to the COVID-19 Pandemic) to a team of Middle States visitors to be evaluated. Independence exceeded expectations and wowed the visiting team with its campus, staff, and students. However, all of that hard work deserves a closer look.
What exactly were those visitors looking for, and what did they think? The Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools identifies twelve “Standards for Accreditation.” They refer to these as the building blocks that need to be in place to produce high levels of student performance. When a school conducts a self-study, these are the twelve standards it uses to pinpoint areas of strength as well as areas where improvement is necessary. Independence met or exceeded all twelve.
After conducting the self study, the administration and faculty of Independence settled on three main initiatives that they felt would help improve the educational experience as well as the overall community. These initiatives were determined based on committee meeting discussions and surveys as well as direct feedback obtained from parents, students, staff, and board members. It was decided that Independence would devote itself to improving the math skills of its students while making math more applicable and relevant, helping students become more environmentally conscious and active, and making the school more diverse and inclusive. As the visiting team observed, while Independence has earned an outstanding reputation over the years for its academic excellence, Indy’s administration and staff are always mindful that we are never operating in the “status quo,” always striving to improve the experience of our students in a manner that conveys excellence. We start by exploring the three key goals set as a result of the Middle States process.
By 2028, students will be strong environmental stewards as demonstrated by increased awareness and activism. As the self study concluded, a priority that emerged was the importance of helping students to become more engaged in and caring for the natural world. To help achieve this, Independence decided to take greater steps to improve its impressive outdoor space while further incorporating it into the curriculum. The team pointed out that Independence has a unique opportunity in this area not only for academic integration, but also for admissions and advancement. By building an outdoor classroom and securing partnerships with the Stroud Water Research Center, Delaware Nature Society, and other organizations, Independence is developing a strong program with enormous potential for current and future students to continue to be stewards of the environment.
By 2028, students at the Independence School will demonstrate improved engagement, problem-solving, critical thinking, risk-taking, and effective communication in the area of math. The study indicated that another area for academic growth was mathematics. Making math improvement a goal, Independence created a plan that involved selecting and adopting new high-quality instructional materials, revising the current curriculum, and elevating the performance of the students in several measurable ways. The visiting team noted that Independence is “well on your way of achieving your goal...” and went on to state that in taking these new steps, the school should soon be able to assess any changes not only in assessment results, but also in the way students apply math concepts to real life.
By 2028, The Independence School will improve its diversity and inclusivity. A third top priority that was evident in the self study was the need for Independence to strive toward greater diversity, especially among the faculty, and decreasing the instances of jokes and teasing among students, while weaving lessons of diversity and inclusion into the present curriculum. In reporting on this initiative, the team agreed that this is “an ambitious and all-encompassing task” and one that is “rightly still in a formative stage.” As noted in a recent Spirit Magazine article, the school is not necessarily trying to solve an existing problem, but rather to “expand our thinking about the meaning and value of diversity.” As the Independence community continues to explore this important issue, it is planting seeds for students to be leaders in this conversation “outside the halls of Indy.”
Diversity and Inclusion By 2028, The Independence School will improve its diversity and inclusivity. A third top priority that was evident in the self study was the need for Independence to strive toward greater diversity, especially among the faculty, and decreasing the instances of jokes and teasing among students, while weaving lessons of diversity and inclusion into the present curriculum.
In reporting on this initiative, the team agreed that this is “an ambitious and all-encompassing task” and one that is “rightly still in a formative stage.” As our consulting psychologist Dr. Dahra Williams pointed out, Indy is not necessarily trying to solve an existed problem, but rather to “expand our thinking about the meaning and value of diversity.” As Indy continues to explore this important issue, we are planting the seeds for our students to be leaders in this conversation “outside the halls of Indy.”
The visiting team, composed of four educators, was led by William F. Stevens, who has decades of school leadership experience. In addition to conducting interviews with several members of the community, including parents, staff, and students, members of the team visited classes and spent time taking in the school’s beautiful campus. In their final report, they noted that “the spirit of teaching and learning is alive and well at Independence!” In his remarks, Mr. Stevens specifically mentioned some of Indy’s leadership by name, calling attention first to Head of School Vicky Yatzus for “setting the standard for her staff and students to ‘inspire, dream, and achieve.’” Mr. Stevens complimented Mrs. Yatzus for creating neither a “my way or the highway” approach nor an “instructional free-for-all” as he noted that the leadership of Independence not only meets but exceeds the Middle States Standard for Mission, Governance, and Leadership. The team described the atmosphere and staff at Independence as dedicated to teaching the whole child, academically, physically, and emotionally. He stated that the people at Independence had created an environment “you can feel, hear in the interviews, and see in the way teachers work with each other.” A special joy for the team was conducting interviews with some of the students who were so impressive that Mr. Stevens jokingly wondered if they were reading off of cue cards. “You have some super kids here,” he said. “They love this place.” Among the commendations the team specifically mentioned included having a clinical psychologist on staff to provide emotional, behavioral, and academic support, the regular and expansive professional development offered to the staff, and the excellently maintained facilities and grounds.
Independence proudly received its formal accreditation effective October 15, 2021, expiring on January 1, 2029. The school community is enthusiastically in agreement with the goals set forth through the Middle States process, and appreciates the time and insight shared with the school by the members of the visiting team and the work of the Middle States Association Commission on Elementary and Secondary Schools.